Bog Myrtle & Peat

Having recently written about a shortage of hares on the Chayne, it’s worth mentioning that I had some interesting news while down in Norfolk at the end of last month. A few years ago, I found a streak of fluff spread out beneath a gatepost on the hill where buzzards often sit. Looking back through my… Continue reading

Checking on my existing plantations before making a start on this year’s trees, it has been entertaining to note the efficacy of my tree guards. I now have several areas of hedgerow planting underway, and one lies in the thick of a rabbit stronghold. Despite having protected every little hedging plant with its own transparent plastic spiral,… Continue reading

Important to note the discovery of what could well be a breeding pair of dippers on the Chayne. I disturbed two birds below the waterfall on the back hill, and while one motored briskly off downstream, the other flew in a strange spiral of loops up into the air, singing all the while. Despite having spent… Continue reading

I wish I could commit myself to juniper. It is a superb and truly native plant, and it provides birds and wildlife with phenomenal dense cover throughout the year. I love the scent of the sprigs and their berries, and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen black grouse enjoying the shelter and protection of… Continue reading

It has been interesting to follow the progress of a local farmer as he wages war on nature and attempts to iron his crumpled, idyllic little farm into a single massive silage field. Each to his own of course, but in pursuit of his subsidies, he has managed to leave no bramble or whin bush intact over the past… Continue reading

It was obvious from the outset that my first chinese water deer was quite unlike anything I had ever encountered before. Even as I had gralloched her on the marsh when she had fallen, my knife ran into trouble. She was so absurdly fat that it was almost impossible to gain any purchase on her with… Continue reading

Walking around the fields where the galloways are wintering this afternoon, I had a good look at the condition of the grass. I hadn’t appreciated the extent to which they have grazed the vegetation down over the last few weeks, and there is not a huge amount of grass left. They are certainly quite dependent… Continue reading

Being a relative newcomer to farming, it has been interesting to follow the uproar following last year’s Brexit vote and the impact that this could have on British agriculture. I am pretty jaded by the existing nature of the Common Agricultural Policy, particularly in Galloway where it simply seems to be a system of providing farmers with… Continue reading

And just like that, Working for Grouse was seven years old. This blog began in 2010 when my work on the Chayne had just taken off, and it has meandered into some strange and unexpected corners since then. I doubt if many readers still survive from my first tentative posts, but I understand that there… Continue reading

Having just returned from Norfolk for my annual pilgrimage, it’s hard to gather my thoughts. Every time I head to this part of the east coast to shoot on a keeper’s day in the dying moments of the season, my mind is blown by the sheer quantity and variety of birds which pass overhead or lurk… Continue reading